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Daily Devotions

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 
Day 
Day 124

"No man repented of his wickedness"

Text: Jeremiah 8:6

PONDERING IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

When one faces the problem of war and its inevitable carnage, it would seem normal to raise questions. Perhaps the raising of questions can help a person be restored to God!

“Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:
‘Will they fall and not rise?
Will one turn away and not return?
Why has this people slidden back,
Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit,
They refuse to return.
I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into the battle.””
Jeremiah 8:4-6

1. “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: ‘Will they fall and not rise?
Will one turn away and not return?””

a) These would be normal questions.
b) A look at the first question:
“Will they fall and not rise?”

i) Would Judah fall to the Babylonians?
ii) Would Judah rise up after being defeated?
c) A look at the second question:
“Will one turn away and not return?”

i) Captivity and exile would be a normal thing to ponder over.
ii) Would there be a possibility of returning?

2. “Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return.”

a) The sad reality was that Judah was “in a perpetual backsliding”.
b) What were the people doing?
i) They held fast to their deceit.
ii) They refused to return to God.
iii) They would not ponder normal questions!
iv) They did not believe that they would be defeated by the Babylonians.

3. “I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into the battle.”

a) An answer was awaited.
b) But the answer was a wrong one!
i) There was no repentance.
ii) Each one was convinced he was right.
c) Jeremiah compared the children of Judah to horses.
i) Horses were mere animals.
ii) They may be trained war-horses but still just animals.
iii) At the sound of the call to charge, the horse and its rider would rush headlong into battle.
iv) But facing a far superior Babylonian army the children of Judah were plunging themselves into death!